How many stars are visible near the Moon in moonlight? Are these stars just fictitious stars created by Van Gogh with only emotional meaning for Van Gogh or are they based on something he was witnessing? Van Gogh was a fast painter and I believe he began his painting, "Starry Night" a few hours before sunset working on it from the bottom up before he lost the light. He painted the stars in last so some event occurred just before he completed the painting. I am only speculating that perhaps our beloved Vincent wasn't alone that night and that perhaps there was a presence of ET orbs or craft in the early night sky. Could a race of highly advanced entities aided or inspired Vincent in completing the painting? Regardless it will always be a great painting and perhaps we may discover it is even more intriguing then we had realized. 4/2/2013 - John Jakimas

Below is perhaps a realistic depiction of the stars and sky Vincent may have actually seen as he painted. Several stars close to the moon would not have been visible as they would have been washed out by the moon light. It would be interesting for someone to go to the location of this painting in June and photograph the early night sky.

In this final depiction perhaps Vincent painted what he was actually seeing that evening and not what he was imagining fictitiously or feeling emotionally. He was an expressive artist but not an artist prone to extreme exaggeration.